


Ghosting Reality

by Yemi Hikari (Yemi_Hikari)



Series: Time in Portia/Stardew Valley [8]
Category: My Time At Portia (Video Game), Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Arlo (My Time At Portia) & Sebastian (Stardew Valley) Are Siblings, Darker Oneshots - Halloween 2020, Gen, Ghosts, Horror, Implied Sexual Content, Implied/Referenced Overdose, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Mental Health Issues, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-11
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:34:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26953708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yemi_Hikari/pseuds/Yemi%20Hikari
Summary: Sebastian put what happened in Portia behind him, or he thought he did, but then Arlo's ghost shows up at a séance held by Emily. Things start spiraling out of control. (Darker Oneshots, Halloween 2020)
Relationships: Arlo (My Time At Portia) & Sebastian (Stardew Valley)
Series: Time in Portia/Stardew Valley [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1849864
Kudos: 3
Collections: (World) Time in Portia/Stardew Valley, A Whisper to the  Dark Side, Angst and Hurt/Comfort Prompts, Darker Oneshots 2020, MinorFandomFest, Platonic Relationships, Siblings





	Ghosting Reality

**Author's Note:**

  * In response to a prompt by Anonymous in the [angstandhcprompts](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/angstandhcprompts) collection. 



> Disclaimer - I do not own Stardew Valley or My Time At Portia. This one shot was written for Darker Oneshots, Halloween 2020 - more on that in an author's note at the end.. I'd also like to thank postashiamu for Beta Reading this one-shot for me to help find some of the grammar issues and clarify certain areas.
> 
>  **Warning:** Implied rape, implied suicide attempt/overdose situation, PTSD and mental illness. Maru may come across as insensitive to what is going on in the story, but she is effectively unaware of certain things. When I write horror I also prefer psychological over gore.
> 
>  **Note:** I like working with a certain crossover headcanon for these two fandom which started when I compared the two fandoms. Robin and Gale are siblings, Sebastian and Mint are the same person with the differences in personality explained by the differences in how they were raised growing up, and Arlo is Sebastian's older brother.

A chill wind blew through the valley, making the trees rustle every so often giving off the feeling that something ethereal followed in his footsteps. A deep breath brought the chill air out of the darkness and into his lungs, making a shudder running down his spine followed by a lingering puff of air escaping from his mouth and nose.

The path down the mountain remained unclear even in the bright starlight, making Sebastian feel even more hesitant in heading down into the valley that late at night. His hands shoved into his pockets, his teeth grinding together while he stood right outside of the door, his shoulders hunched ever so slightly, his tongue tracing the roof of his mouth in dreaded anticipation.

“Seb.”

Hearing the voice of his younger half-sister made Sebastian nearly jump out of his skin. Stepping aside so Maru might come out of the house, closing the door to the home their mother built with her own hands; Maru’s tawny-colored skin appeared eerie in the porchlight, a stark contrast to his overly pale skin. She reached up pushing a lock of red hair away from her face and eyeglasses.

“Well?” His sister looked at him with anticipation.

“You’re the one who asked me to come with you,” Sebastian snapped, fully regretting his tone of voice when Maru’s mouth twisted into a frown and her eyes narrowed sending an all-to-expected glare his way. He glanced away, into the chilling darkness of the mountain path and took a deep breath, blocking out the anxiety he felt from her looking at him that way—leaving the lingering feeling Maru hated him.

“I thought you _liked_ this kind of thing.”

His lungs sucked in the cold air, feeling constricted by everyone’s preconceived conceptions regarding how he should think and act. Sebastian tilted his head back, looking up at the stars in the sky in an attempt to find some level of comfort despite knowing he headed right into a social engagement the young man would very much rather avoid. A well-placed finger pocking the back of his arm made him turn to look at his sister, who continued glaring at him.

“Seriously, you and Abigail are both into all this spooky stuff,” she muttered, still not clarifying what she meant by spooky stuff beyond the fact they were heading to Emily and Haley’s place.

“Don’t pretend you’re trying to connect with me on some level, when in reality you just want me along chaperoning because you know very well Demetrius wouldn’t let you go to this thing unless I went with you.”

“Fine.” Maru started down the path, her tone of voice indicating definite disgust. “Be that way.”

Sebastian took a deep breath, the chill in the air still making him feel ill at ease regarding the situation. He followed after Maru, disliking the thought of her complaining to Demetrius about—well, whatever she decided to complain about; mentally, he lectured himself, reminding himself an argument with his step-father was the last thing his constantly anxious mind needed right now, only for his mind to sharply jump to the anxiety caused by any social engagement involving more than just Sam being present. Even the ones involving Abigail sometimes made him feel like throwing up and hiding in his room; the result being burying his head in his computer programming work and playing gameson good days and burying his head under a blanket on the bad ones.

Of course, he found himself forced into the entire matter because Maru wanted to go and his step-father wouldn’t let her go on her own, neither did she want Demetrius to go with her.

Sebastian sucked in the chill air, the fog which enveloped the valley feeling like clammy fingers on his skin. His mind wandered to the skeletons in the caves, suddenly wishing he might be dealing with them and their shaking bones rather than living people. A branch snapped under his foot, bringing his focus back to matters at hand. “So…”

“Not talking to you.”

“Maru.”

“You’re the one who doesn’t want to come and happens to only be doing so because you’re stuck being my babysitter.”

“Oi.” His eyes narrowed, his teeth grinding as the fog kept touching the nape of his neck. His hands remained shoved into his jeans pocket to escape the fog’s clammy fingers on them. “So, what’s is this ‘spooky’ thing we’re going to do, that you thought I’d enjoy?”

“A séance.”

“A _what?_ ” Sebastian quickened his pace, suddenly finding himself pissed off now. He looked down at his sister, who realized he’d caught up with her despite being still at a higher incline. “Why would…”

“I’d have thought you’d be interested in this kind of thing.”

“What?”

“You know. You and your girlfriend…”

“Abigail is _not_ my girlfriend.”

“Both of you are into spooky things, so I thought…”

“You thought _what_?”

“That you’d actually enjoy it. The night certainly is spooky enough for it.”

“Maru…”

“I’m not speaking to you.”

Sebastian let out a deep sigh, watching his sister hurry down the path away from him. He quickened his pace, barely keeping sight of her, her figure appearing almost like a ghost in the crisp fall air, but he feared one moment he’d close his eyes and she’s be gone. Once they’d reached town, she appeared even more ghost-like under the street light, sending a shudder down Sebastian’s spine. Then, for a brief moment, just before he arrived at their destination he reallydid lose sight of her.

“Boo!” Maru leapt out from around the corner of Emily and Haley’s house, startling him.

“Maru! Don’t do that!” Sebastian reached a hand up to his chest, trying to calm his racing heartbeat.

“Come on!” She grabbed onto the sleeve of his shir, dragging him behind her and knocking on the door.

Emily opened the door, Sebastian thinking her electric blue hair was always like its own frightfull shock. “Come in! Come in! Everyone else is here.”

Sebastian let out a sigh, looking around to _see_ everyone Emily had invited (he didn’t think Haley would come up with something like a séance). Haley, of course, was there with her boyfriend Alex—he at the table and her leaning against the nearby kitchen counter, drinking something that looked like alchohal. Sebastian also recognized the sculptor who recently moved to the town, chatting with Penny in the corner. Sebastian would have certainly felt out of place if it weren’t for Sam and Abigail also being there even with the lights being dimmed and spooked out like it was.

“So, let’s begin. I’ve got a Ouija board over here.” Emily started towards the table where the board in question rested.

“What?” Sebastian glanced over at Maru, confused as to why his half-sister wanted to participate in any of this; spooky stuff wasn’t really her thing. He looked over to where Sam was standing, sending him a look indicating he definitely didn’t want to be _there_ , messing with things which shouldn’t be messed with let alone a social engagement. In response, Sam smirked, making Sebastian wonder if Sam didn’t care or simply didn’t register the fact the event definitely put him on edge—for more than one reason.

Of course, Sam might think like Maru that this was Sebastian’s kind of thing.

  


“So, I need some volunteers of course.”

“Me! Me, me, me!” Abigail nearly bounced out of her shoes. Sebastian wouldn’t have been surprised if Abigail had supplied the Ouija board herself.

“I’ll particpate.” Maru piped up.

“Maru…” Sebastian attempted whispering her name under his breath, wishing for her to not participate.

“Not speaking to you.” Maru hissed under her breath, making him flinch. “And don’t you dare leave without me, if you are actually thinking of leaving.”

“One more? Any…”

Alex, who already sat at the table drinking, looking rather annoyed with the whole thing while Haley, Emily’s younger sister, leaned against the kitchen counter let out a chuckle realizing Alex had involuntarily volunteered by sitting where he did. Sebastian watched the others take their places, and despite the feeling of dread, he found himself standing nearby.

“So, how does this work?” Maru asked.

“I place my fingers here, then you three do as well,” Emily replied enthusiastically. Sebastian bit into his bottom lip slightly, his fingers tightening where he gripped his own arm.

Sam walked over, whispering into his ear. “Please tell me you don’t believe in this stuff like Abigail does.”

“That—”

“Silence please!” Emily called out. “Spirits, spirits, I call to thee…” For some reason, Sebastian’s brain felt that wasn’t how the invocation was supposed to go.

“Are you in this room,” Emily continued. He wasn’t surprised when the pointer moved to the yes answer.

“Do you have something to tell us?” Again, the answer was yes and he almost looked away; even someone faking the séance would pick the yes answer.

“What is it you want to tell us then?”

The board began to spell out a word. First, an A, then an R, then an L and then an O. When it started moving towards the I and then the S as Sebastian’s chest started tightening painfully, the sound of explosions going off in the recesses of his brain as a cold, wet sweat started on his back and the back of his neck. The ringing sound in his ears from the panic wouldn’t stop, but he heard the front door slam behind him as he ran out of the house into the blackness that greeted him.

Mentally, he cursed the fact Emily—and possibly by extension Abigail—decided messing with ghosts was a good idea, but even more he cursed their luck regarding the matter.

He found himself hurrying, not actually _seeing_ anything around him, but he heard Sam call out to him, asking for him to come back. He simply couldn’t. The idea of Arlo’s dead ghost being in the room was too much for him.

…

Erasing the sounds and smells of that day remained an impossibility, yet now…

He _felt_ the counter at the Round Table at his back, pressing in much like the sweltering heat around him as the sound of explosions coming from outside echoed into the inside. His breath came in a sharp, uncontrolled gasps while someone held his hand, their thumb pressing in right between his own thumb and forefinger. He felt the person’s breath on his face, adding to the atmosphere that was already too hot.

Through the dimness, he saw her hunkered down with him, her small hand gripping his own ever small hand, her red hair a complete mess, while her pale, freckled-splattered skin was smattered with dirt from the debris still falling from the ceiling of the Round Table. Her green eyes reflected the fear he also felt so keenly, what with the enemy attacking outside.

“Mint…”

He wanted to open his mouth, telling his cousin anything which might alleviate her fears, yet his own fear prevented him from saying anything. He felt a few tears running down his cheeks while another explosion rocked the entire building. Hearing someone move from the front side of the counter to the back, with the enemy outside, almost made him lose his bladder, his eyes clamping shut as a whimper escaped his lips.

“Sebby?” The familiar voice, one which made him _feel_ safe spoke from nearby. “Sebby, look at me. Please?” Somehow he managed to open his, meeting the eyes of someone—a youth slightly older than himself, with red hair and bright blue eyes smiling at him. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“Arlo…” Sebastian managed to choke out.

“We’re going to move you and Ginger to where the rest of the kids are, in the hidden cellar.”

Except, something about the situation didn’t seem quite right given, the fact Arlo was himself still a kid—he should also be heading into the cellar with the other kids, yet Sebastian remembered Arlo helping out around the Civil Corps at that young age. Sebastian’s hand reached out, clutching onto Arlo’s sleeve.

“Come on buddy. Trust me. I’m your older brother, so would I lie to you? Everything’s going to be okay.”

That was when the world exploded around them and the last thing Sebastian remembered was Arlo being knocked to the ground while Ginger screamed.

…

He sucked in a deep breath, his eyes flickering open. A flash of white light pierced his vision and echoed through his numbed brain painfully. His fingers reached out, seeking out something, finding the rough bark of a tree. Sebastian’s eyes clenched shut again, his cheeks were definitely tear-stained, his entire body shuddering from the experience while his head turned away from the bright light which attempted burning into his psyche, his mind registered the fact he remained wedged safely into someplace he didn’t quite recognize.

Opening his eyes again, the bright sunlight continuing to pierce his brain, a migraine effectively setting in. Sebastian’s tongue felt dry; his fingers felt around, taking in the place he’d managed wedging himself into. In the bright blinding light, he finally made out the fact he’d crammed himself between two fallen trees out in the woods, his eyes looking around frantically while stretching one of his legs away from where it had been tucked tightly against his chest.

Sebastian’s entire body felt stiff and cold. Likely, he’d spent the entire night there. The palmz of his hands felt raw as did his elbows and knees; even his face felt slightly scraped up. Carefully, he examined these places, finding he’d managed to somehow scrape himself up pretty bad; the black jeans he wore were torn on the left knee as was the right elbow of his black turtleneck. One of his shoes was also missing and his foot felt sore from walking without the shoe.

He pushed himself out of the place he’d wedged himself, his head pounding. He staggered slightly, limping on the one foot while heading back into town. Sebastian wondered how he might avoid seeing anyone in town, particularly Maru who worked as a nurse at the local clinic. Eventually, he stumbled across his shoe, though whether or not he felt thankful Sebastian did not know, particularly when he slipped the shoe on – he didn’t know if that made walking better or worse.

The sun just started rising, preventing the sun from beating down on the top of his dark hair without mercy, yet the sunlight _still_ remained bright enough – possibly because of the migraine – to prove a nuisance.

A soft mist had settled about the valley, preventing the sun from beating down on the top of his head of dark hair without mercy, yet the sun _still_ remained bright enough – possibly because of the migraine – to prove a nuisance.

Nobody noticed him staggering out of the woods and into town, but turning his head, ears picked up the solemn quiet that pervaded the small town, making it seemas if everyone were still in bed. Sebastian shook his head in an attempt to shake away the nightmare and reorient himself before continuing to limp along from the place he entered the small valley town from the woods, hobbling past the fountain so he might in turn proceed past the old park that children often played in next to the run down community center.

His eyes snapped shut, one hand reaching up to his ear as a sharp buzzing sound rushed through his head along with the memory of how Ginger laughed. He also remembered the slide back in Portia and how it felt going down; worse, he feared opening his eyes and seeing the old park back in Portia in front of him as well as Ginger’s face smiling back at him.

Leaning over next to the fountain, the water gurgling in a manner that sounded violent at that moment, he vomited. The taste remained on his tongue, bile, and crude yet the smell made him want to wretch again.

Wiping his mouth, he continued down the path, heading up past the old community center onto the mountain path which led up to the family home, freezing up when he remembered his mother’s home wasn’t the family home. He closed his eyes again, the memory of the small workshop of his mother’s back in Portia before she moved to the valley, the memory of her and Arlo’s voices mingling in the back of his ears.

Another voice pierced the memory—the voice wasn’t his father, yet…

Sebastian honestly didn’t want to place the voice despite the fact he knew the voice all to well, the taste of vomit still in his mouth. In the back of his mind, he remembered hearing _that_ voice and the voice of his mother discussing the fact they’d not brought Arlo with them back when they first moved which in turn meant a reason for Sebastian to return there—of course, neither knew he was listening, overhearing every word.

Shaking his head, Sebastian continued along, his shoulders starting to tremble. He muttered to himself under his breath, “come on Seb. You can’t have another panic attack like last night. There’s no telling where you’d end up this time.”

At last, he finally arrived in front of the family home, after being away for what felt like forever, even though he’d only left just last night. He felt completely out of place in time and location. His body was cold and ached terrible and he hesitated as his hand reached for the doorknob. Sebastian’s mind raced, blinking a few times, knowing he should expect a lecture from Demetrius once he stepped inside. The thought made him feel like throwing up, yet on the other hand he knew he couldn’t avoid it any longer.

Taking a deep breath, he entered. The smell of coffee lingered in the air meaning someone in the household was already up. He felt so filthy, so unclean; he headed through the kitchen so he might use the shower on the other side to wash away the dirt and grime from the night before. In the kitchen, Sebastian noticed Demetrius leaning up against the kitchen counter, almost as if he’d been waiting for him the entire night, sipping a cup of coffee.

“Demetrius…”

The man looked up, his eyes widening slightly. The voice – it was the voice from back then. “Sebastian.”

His voice—it was the voice from back then.

Sebastian started towards the bathroom, his already tense body tensing up even more; he didn’t want a lecture, ignoring the flood of emotions brought on from hearing his step-father’s voice. He said nothing, hoping Demetrius might forget he was even there. Of course, the man _couldn’t_ forget that he was there, not after he’d _left_ the man’s daughter, He fidgeted, trying to _not_ look the man in the eye.

The man set his mug of coffee onto the kitchen counter. “What happened last night?”

He felt his throat tighten despite the gentle manner in which Demetrius spoke, something which felt offputting due to how unexpected it was. He turned, looking at the man. “What happened? Didn’t Maru tell you that I took off on her last night? Didn’t she tell you how awful of an older brother I am?”

“That…”

“I’m going to take a shower! Don’t bother me!” Sebastian slammed the door to the bathroom shut, his heart pounding in his chest; mentally, he pushed back the panic, not wanting yet another incident like the night before. His breath came heavy while he attempted gluing his eyes to the floor so he wouldn’t notice his filthy clothing—it didn’t work. Automantically, he started to undress, wanting to get rid of the filth which touched his body.

He then caught sight of himself in the mirror.

Sebastian swallowed, looking at his dark eyes, dark hair, and pale skin. He’d removed his dark turtleneck to the point the shirt rested around his scrapped up fingers. He let the shirt drop away, before reaching up to touch the scrape on the side of his face. The touch stung and he winced; quickly, he stripped of the rest of the clothing, not looking in the mirror again.

His focus turned towards the shower, his fingers reaching for the faucet, letting the hot water pour over him even though this made the scrapes on his knees, the palms of his hands, and his face hurting even more. In some ways, he felt he deserved the pain, the episode of remebering of what happened back in Portia remaining firmly set in his mind; the hot water did nothing to erase the memories, and his breath came deeply.

He didn’t want to experience that again.

Reflexively, his hands reached up to his shoulders, and he felt his own nails digging into his back. He uncesscfully tried erasing the memory from his mind, before finally making an attempt to scrub himself clean, not wanting to remember how filthy he felt that day, with the dust from the debris covering his entire body. His eyes closed, not wanting to look at himself—his own naked body—at that moment.

Eventually, the water went cold, feeling like icy fingers were running down his back.

Shivering, he got out of the shower. He started to wrap a towel around his thin waist when he caught sight of the change of clothes sitting on the bathroom counter. He stiffened, swallowing hard upon realizing he’d not heard anyone enter the bathroom. Instead, in the back of his mind, he was sure heard Arlo’s voice, clear as day trying to tell him everything would in fact be okay when in fact nothing was okay.

He quickly dried himself on, pulling the clothes on before rushing down to the basement, keeping the light off while he hauled himself into his bed and curled up into a fetal position, covering his ears. He tried calming his breath, yet the ringing sound in his ears simply wouldn’t go away, nor would his panic subside.

Even through the ringing of his hands covering his ears, he could hear the creaking of the stairs; with each step he pictured in the back of his mind Arlo’s ghost taking each step even though he knew this thought process wasn’t rational. A shiver ran down his spine as more hot tears spilled down his face while still keeping his ears covered, but his breathing paused when he felt someone or something pull a blanket over him, a whimper possibly escaping from his mouth when this happened.

He heard someone, his mind telling him the person was Arlo’s ghost, say to him, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

…

Time passed, although Sebastian didn’t know how much time passed

Somehow, Sebastian extracted himself from the safe and secure blankets in his room and walked up the basement stairs, each step sending a resounding creak through his entire body. In the back of his mind, he mentally told himself he overreacted to everything which happened before, yet there remained the thought in the back of his mind he didn’t imagine any of what happened that night or the next morning.

“ _After all. Nobody knows his name, so they couldn’t have prepared something like that._ ”

When he arrived upstairs, he found himself drawn to the kitchen by the smell of coffee. He leaned up against the counter, taking in the aroma which relaxed his senses and body. After a moment of enjoying the calm, Sebastian poured himself a cup of coffee.

Preparing to sip the brew, Sebastian started sinking into an abyss of not thinking about anything when the sound of of someone coming from behind made him nearly jump out of his skin, the coffee nearly spilling from the mug onto his hands. He turned slowly, irrationally dreading that the ghost of a certain someone would be behind him, his entire body stiff. Instead of seeing a pale ghost, he saw his half-sister standing there, glaring at him.

“You.”

“I…” Sebastian looked down, remembering all too well his actions from the night before; he’d taken off on Maru, albeit unintentionally and knew her ire likely stemmed from his actions; in fact, he didn’t even know how many days passed let alone if enough passed for her to calm down. Obviously not.

“Did you _really_ think I’d be happy to see you?” Maru’s words – Sebastian remained unsure of whether he’d somehow indicated she should be happy to see him or if she simply didn’t want him there in the kitchen.

“Maru…” Sebastian looked up, his entire body tensed upon seeing Ginger standing there, next to Maru, the eye on that side hanging out while her face was ripped to expose the teeth. Her clothing was ripped and torn, a shade away from falling off her body while bones stuck out in various places. Somehow, she looked older than he remembered, around his own age.

Maru glared at him. “You abandoned me, Sebastian. I had to come home by myself, late at night.”

“You abandoned me Mint,” Ginger’s ghost said, moving a little closer. The mug of coffee dropped from his hand, hitting the ground with a resounding smash while Ginger stepped closer.

Maru’s voice was strained. “Seriously, you’re not the victim here!”

“You’re not the victim Mint.” Ginger’s jaw clattered as she came closer and Sebastian found himself sliding down slightly against the kitchen counter.

“I only went to that séance because I thought I might be able to get closer to you for once, for crying out loud!” Maru snapped.

Ginger, kept approaching, and he could see one the bones which made up her hand all to clearly for his own liking, particularly with how her skeletal limb squirmed ever so slightly. “I only went to the Round Table that day because of you.”

“Coward!” Both women said at the same time just as he slid all the way down tothe ground, his legs pulled up to his chest—a grown adult acting like a terrified child—while his hands reached up into his long locks of black hair, twisting te hair while worried his bottom lip. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see Ginger’s ghost, but he was sure he felt her fingers touching him, his shoulder and side.

Eventually, he opened his eyes and found himself not in the kitchen, but instead in his room, on his bed with his back up against the headboard, hunkering away from the world outside of his room. His head turned, looking at the stairway, wondering, “ _Did I even leave this place? Was I even up in the kitchen?_ ”

…

The fog muddling Sebastian’s mind gripped him, reminding him of the way the literal fog from the night of the séance had gripped him with its cold, clammy fingers; he also couldn’t dicern one thing from another in the mental fog, his mind still pondering whether he ever really been up in the kitchen, the argument from Maru along with seeing Ginger seeming like some far-off dream.

In the dark, he sat down at his computer, attempting to get back to reality—a reality he was struggling with. Words couldn’t even begin to describe his perception of reality.

“ _What happened?_ ” the email from Sam read. “ _Why did you hurry out of the room like that?_ ”

Sebastian’s jaw twisted slightly, physically feeling knots forming in his jaw and the middle of his back while his breath came in a gradual manner. Instinctively, he looked around, worried Ginger’s ghost might appear in his vision. Taking a deep breath, his hand reaching out for a medicine bottle before setting it down, unsure of whether and when he’d taken his medicine.

Opening a reply to Sam, he typed out the words: I don’t want to talk about it.

“ _Alright. Come over. Though, be forwarned. My father invited some soldier he was in prisoner of war cap with or something like that. I really didn’t pay attention. Still, feel free to come over.”_

Sebastian stiffened, the knots in his jaw and back becoming worse, his eyes darting warily towards the stares, half-expecting the ghosts of Arlo or Ginger to come down the stairs, reminding him of things he wanted to forget. He dreaded going back upstairs for what might await him there.

“ _I’ve been upstairs though. Right? In the kitchen?_ ” Except, that memory of the kitchen and Maru and Ginger felt like a dream. Reluctantly, he stood, rubbing the back of his neck, mentally thinking he’d taken his medication. He headed up the stairs only to find himself accosted by bright light as he left the house.

Bright light, blindingly so.

The branches of the trees despite the bright light still felt like the fingers of some strange monster, yet he brushed it aside, mentally accusing himself of being paranoid and there being no reason to be so. However…

The war had happened—people he cared about died and couldn’t in reality be there in front of him..

He continued down the mountain path, everything swimming from the unusual heat, his mind contemplating the feeling of the sun beating down on his skin as if the sun were melting his skin; he was not, though, a vampire like in some of the horror novels he enjoyed reading—If he were, he’d use it as an excuse…

Sebastian stopped walking, his mind having wandered while he contemplated the horrors of the hot sun beating down on his pale skin; he never liked the heat, not since that day in the Round Table. He wished for the colder weather even if this brought along the fog which reached out for his skin with clammy cold fingers—the cold weather always feeling more inviting if not matching of his inner feelings.

He stopped, seeing a head of red hair and beard that matched—a ghost out in the sunlight. His mouth opened, his eyes closing and re-opening, seeing the ghost coming closer.

He turned on his heel, heading inside, sucking a deep breath as his eyes, sure he heard Arlo’s voice calling out; he heard Arlo once again say everything would be okay, before he found himself hunkered under the blanket, his breath coming quickly, rabidly at the thought—no, the sight of seeing Arlo standing there, circles under his eyes, the ghostly figure continuing to haunt him despite having gotten away from the scene.

“ _Ghosts don’t come out in the sun Sebastian. Ghosts don’t_ …” He tried reasoning with himself, but nobody knew the rules regarding the reality of being a ghost—something which played through his head as he debated the situation. He remained under the blanket when the radio in his room suddenly came on, someone muttering and speaking for a short period of time. He didn’t lift the blanket, even to check how the radio had been turned on, fearing one of the ghosts haunting him might pull him further into the darkness of his room, deep into the dark abyss under his bed.

The radio crackled, mentioning something regarding the Storm Knight gathering before crackling out. More announcements kept coming in and out while Sebastian hid under the covers, mentions of Portia crackling in and out, haunting him. Not wanting to peek out, his mind focused on what might drag him into the abyss. Over and over as the seemed to repeat the same message—over and over and over again.

…

“You can’t stay in there forever Seb.” The radio clicked off, allowing him to focus in on Sam’s voice. Or perhps the illusionary sounf of the radio had just stopped echoing through his head. He sat up, the blanket still covering his head, still unsure of whether Sam was even real or not.

“Yes, yes I can,” Sebastian spoke from underneath the blanket, the memory of seeing Arlo as clear as day, or clear as night remaining a strong memory in the back of his mind. He tugged the blanket further over his head, hunching over.

“Look, I don’t know what’s gotteninto you that you’re so afraid ofso afraid of facing the light of day…”

“I’m not afraid.” Yet, in the back of his head, he knew he was definitely afraid. “ _Why don’t I admit it – that I’m afraid? Because I think Sam will think I’m being ridiculous and paranoid, or because I don’t want to bother others with this, to drag them into this insanity? Honestly…_ ”

“Seb?”

Taking a deep breath, Sebastian pulled the blanket off of his head, his mouth twisting slightly. “I’m honestly okay.”

“Yeah, well…” Sam frowned. “I’m not the only one who’s noticed you haven’t been coming out of your room. I mean, no, that isn’t quite it. I’m not the only one who’s noticed that you _have_ come out a few times, but then hurry back in, and during the day time as well.” Sam let out a sigh indicating he was frustrated. “I mean, it isn’t usual for you to venture out into the day very often, but you don’t go hurrying back in as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I…” He’d almost said, “ _I have?_ ” Yet in his mind, he knew doing so would admit he’d lost awareness of his own comings and goings; he didn’t want to talk about that night when he’d found himself out in the woods, chased by some kind of demon he couldn’t quite remember, resulting in him ending scraped up like he was.

“So…” Sam took a deep breath. “Anyways, Haley and Alex want to apologize for what happened and have invited you…”

“I’m not going.”

“If you don’t go, then they’ll be definitely convinced something is wrong with you.”

“I…” Sebastian rubbed the back of his neck, not looking Sam in the eye, mentally figuring out if there was a way out of yet another social engagement, particularly since the last one had resulted in him seeing things which weren’t there – at least, things others couldn’t see was there. “You’ll be there, right?”

“I wasn’t invited.”

“That…”

“Just, go. Don’t make me make an idiot of myself by crashing whatever it is they’re up to just to drag your sorry ass out of bed so that you can prove you’re okay… because I don’t fir one minute believe you’re okay, and I doubt everyone else will, either.”

“I … fine.” Sebastian looked at his hands, something in the back of his mind saying things wouldn’t be fine.

“It’s in a couple of hours.”

“Wait…” Sebastian looked up, only to see Sam already heading up the stairs and disappearing, leaving him to the darkness.

“Of course it won’t be fine,” Ginger’s voice said, but then Arlo’s in the back of his head said something else.

“Everything’s going to be okay. Trust your older brother.”

A shiver ran down Sebastian’s spine, his eyes closing; it felt like a dream that Sam had even been there in his room, particularly since neither of them ran in the same social circle as Alex and Haley—not at all. Of course, staying in the darkness waiting to be dragged into the abyss was his other option and there was that urge to escape that particular horror; either way, he didn’t _feel_ in his right mind.

…

“ _Why’d I even come?_ ” Sebastian thought moments after he’d arrived, having followed the path down the mountain, yet again feeling a chill wind blowing through the valley, rustling the leaves in a manner which left an ethereal feeling; the sensation felt more poignant after seeing Arlo’s ghost lurking around the place, haunting the back of his mind.

The slightest sound down the path made Sebastian’s mind fear the recurrence of memories best left forgotten, yet the fear only grew as Haley and Alex directed him towards the woods after arriving at the house both Haley and her older sister lived in. “Really sorry about the night before. Emily…“

Sebastian found himself looking at Haley, her eyes drifting away nervously as if she didn’t want to mention how much her sister embarrassed her. “ _Actually, it feels weird, Haley and Alex feeling bad regarding what happened the previous night. We don’t run in the same social circle._ ” Of course, the _fact_ they didn’t run in the same social circle should have forewarned him to the fact he’d been invited to a kegger of all things. “ _Why’d I even come? I don’t like alcohol. I don’t like alcohol at all._ ”

And of course, the social custom at these things _was_ to drink, so he found himself downing something alcoholic for that reason, choking back the nasty taste while his eyes closed; this was before others started showing up—others from _their_ social circle, not his, _people_ he remembered _not_ getting along with back in high school. Despite the warning bells going off in his head, he downed some more of the burning liquid in hopes of _not_ remembering some of the interactions.

“Hey.” Someone purred into his ear, making him nearly jump out of his skin, but the way her fingers touched his shoulder made him imagine a ghost was attempting to tear his skin off. Warily, he looked the female in question in the eye, remembering how she – although he couldn’t _remember_ her name, was one of the ones who enjoyed toying with him.

He glanced nervously over at Haley and Alex, hoping they’d rescue him, yet thinking they’d both be too involved in their own romance drama to ever notice his level of discomfort regarding his current situation, wishing that what was going on wasn’t. He chugged the drink down, purposefully moving away from the girl crunching the cup up and tossing it into the trash can Haley and Alex provided.

He wanted to escape, yet looking out at the woods and seeing the same fog covering the forest as the night he ran from the séance, he found himself thinking leaving the lit area wasn’t a good idea. He physically tensed up when the young woman started bothering again. “Hey? Are you avoiding me?”

“I…” Sebastian looked over at Haley and Alex, seeing that Haley had now noticed his predicament and was coming over which meant she might intervene, hopefully because she saw the level of discomfort he was in; he certainly didn’t feel comfortable around the girl in question—with one of her hands on him again, still reminding him of some creature trying to rip his flesh off. He turned his head to tell her off when she locked lips with him for some unphathomable reason. He felt some of her drink splash onto the back of his neck. The whole thing felt sloppy, if not downright wrong.

“Oh. If the two of you want to sneak away…”

Sebastian’s eyes blinked in confusion at Haley’s statement, but then the girl tugged him away, making him nearly spill his drink, but perhaps not. Haley turned away, completely planning on rejecting the girl’s advances and to bolster his courage he chugged down the drink in his hands, which was when things became strange.

Putting what happened next into words—the way his vision blurred and his head spun as he felt her drag him away, not to mention he started losing his balance. He opened up his mouth to say something, only for him to find himself distracted by the branches of the trees overhead looking as if they were reaching out to grab him, to tear him apart, but he quickly noticed how far from the light of the kegger they’d gotten.

“Look…” Sebastain trailed off, teetering, when she kissed him again, her drink pouring down his back. Pulling away, he noticed more figures appearing, seemingly insubstantiual as ghosts. The drink which possibly wasn’t his drink dropped from his hand, his head spinning. “I gotta…”

Sebastian stopped speaking, nearly losing his balance, when she kissed him again, her drink pouring down his back. He pulled away, the figures in front of him seeming like ghosts – the situation not real, but he stumbled backward into another person who grabbed onto his arms as his drink – which probably wasn’t his drink – dropped from his hand, his mind spinning. “I gotta…”

The person, a male, whispered into his ear, while the girl smirked at him, her grin suddenly looking as if it spread across her entire face.

“What?” She leaned in, her breath smelling rancid, his mind saying like death. “You don’t want to get laid?”

“Come on…” The person behind him said Sebastinan’s last name. “We’re just _trying_ to help you out.”

Sebastian’s mouth opened, the girl’s mouth locking with his again as if to shut him up so he wouldn’t scream, even though he simultaneously wondered how the others back at the kegger would react to him screaming and acting like a girl needing to be rescued.

“I mean,” the strange man continued, “what other chance are you going to get laid by a pretty girl.”

“ _I don’t want to._ ” Sebastian’s eyes closed, feeling the clammy fingers of the fog reaching his nether region as she started yanking his pants down.

“Have you ever been kissed down there?”

His eyes fluttered back open, his mouth opening to protest when the man restraining him clamped a hand down over his mouth, their other hand touching his rear. “I think I’d love to fuck that ass.”

His vision continued spinning, his mind struggling to register _what_ was happening, but eventually, he bit down on the hand which covered his mouth, mentally unsure of how far they’d already gone, whatever they’d slipped him definitely effecting his perception. He then felt himself get thrown roughly backward, onto the ground, but around him, instead of his tormentors, he saw the debris of the Round Table.

His head hurt.

Twisting his head slightly, he saw Ginger one the ground; he couldn’t tell whether or not she was breathing, but she… the side of her face was bloodied. Turning his head away from her, he saw Arlo, also a bloody mess, abd then Arlo started moving, looking lifeless. But then, Arlo started moving, looking dead yet crawling towards him, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ginger move as well, his mind resgistering the dead figners grasming at his clothing.

He screamed, or he tried to only for a hand to cover his mouth when he heard another word.

“Shut up you little ass shit! Biting me like that!” Sebastian saw the male looming over him, but he felt and saw yet another man beside the girl, helping to hold Sebastian down as his clothes were removed, his panic growing like the branches of the trees above, reaching out, as if trying to find him and pull him into an abyss.

His vision swimming, he blinked hard, and suddenly he found himself back at school, the lights flickering above as the older kids ripped his clothes off his bony frame, jeering at him, a buzzing sound echoing through his ears as they shoved him into a locker, locking the door on him and leaving him in the pitch dark and in a lot of pain. Blinking again, he found himself back under the counter at the Round Table, before blinking yet again to find himself stuck in that dark locker.

He felt filthy, to say the least, and mentally he didn’t understand why he could hearArlo’s voice saying, “Everything’s going to be okay.” His eyes opened and closed again, but even more terrifying than seeing Arlo’s ghost in front of him was seeing himself back in the forest, wedged into the two fallen trees in the woods, curled into a fetal position and completely naked.

Was he going insane?

Had he somehow just left the séance and removed his clothes himself? The only thing that was clear was how relentlessing these ghostes haunted his pshyche. He let out a whimper, closing his eyes, but still seeing Arlo’s cold and clammy fingers reaching for him, yet never touching him. Instead, he simply heard the words, “Everything’s going to be okay, Sebby. Your big brother will make sure of that, alright?”

Sebastian took a deep breath, his eyes clenching shut, his body hurting all over. A hand touched him and he recoiled, expecting a ghostly figure ready his skin off his bones. Instead, he saw Sam’s dad, looking at him with definite worry before taking off his army jacket off and placing it over him. Sebastian simply closed his eyes again, wanting to block everything out.

…

Seeing Arlo’s ghost over and over again had lodged Sebatian’s heart perminantely in his throat. Sebastian lay in the bed on his side in his dark room, his blanket pulled over his head while he contemplated feeling as if he couldn’t leave his room. There was no denying the fact he was afraid, his mind playing tricks on him, making him think that leaving his room would mean he’d see the ghosts of his past—his dead family members.

His throat tightened, his fingers twisting in his hair while his heart continued thumping in his throat, beating a steady rhythm in his ears. The sound of the stairs creaking made his entire body tense uo, his ears listening for the sound of a ghostly voice calling out to him, much, in the same manner, as it had that night he’d found himself passed out in the woods, completely naked.

“Seb?”

Hearing Maru’s voice was definitely unexpected, but when he blinked, he slowly registered the fact he wasn’t actually in his room, but instead in the town clinic instead. Gently, he pulled the blanket off of the top of his head, his eyes focusing in on his sister, his head pounding painfully. One hand reached up to hold his head while taking in the way her mouth twisted in what he felt was obvious disgust. “Are you going to yell at me, Maru?”

“Would it actually do anything? I mean, would yelling at you make you think twice about getting drunk and having drunk sex out in the forest.”

“What?” Sebastian’s was unable to look his sister in the eye. “That really happened?”

“Yeah. Sam’s dad found you…”

“Can I leave now?” He didn’t want anybody to know what happened, particularly since the events felt so much like a dream.

“Can…” Maru let out a deep breath, then looked away. “I get it. I find it embarrassing as well. Harvey said you could check out—just, check in every couple of hours. You’ve also got a concussion.”

Sebastian let out a deep breath and started standing up, completely planning on escaping the room.

“Sebby…”

“Don’t call me that.”

“I don’t like—”

“I get it! You don’t like me!”

“That’s not—”

Sebastian didn’t wait around for her to say anything. He instead hurried out of the clinic, finding himself greeted by the cold clammy fog which felt like fingers raking over far more of his skin than before, aside from when he’d been completely naked. It was then he realized he was dressed in shorts and tank top, probably Sam’s clothes. Shaking his head in frustration at feeling so helpless, he decided he didn’t care that he wasn’t wearing any shoes or that the ground hurt his feet as he headed up the mountain path.

He arrived at the house and started down the stairs, ignoring the voice of his mother and step-father as he did so, slamming the door behind him. He headed over to his computer, burying his head in his hands.

Sebastian thought to himself, “ _I don’t want anyone to know._ ”

“Of course not.” Ginger’s voice made him look up, and he saw her by the entrance to his room, the same grotesque features as the other day. He swallowed. “After all, you’re a coward, unable to protect us, right? Me and Arlo that is.”

“I…” The door swung open and Sam stepped into the room, a look of worry on his face. Sebastian felt a chill run down his spine.

“Seb?”

Sebastian’s throat tensed, noticing Ginger’s apparition disappear… maybe because ghosts couldn’t stick around Sam’s usual cheery disposition.

“Are you okay?”

“What?” His eyes opened and closed, registering the fact that Sam’s usual cheery disposition was missing.

“I…” Sam let out a deep breath. “Your sister was worried, so…”

“I’m fine.” Sebastian’s throat tightened, his eyes narrowing.

“She told me you left the clinic without any shoes on.”

“That’s none of her business.”

“Seb, are you taking your medicine?”

“ _That_ is none of _your_ business.”

“Sebastian, you’re the one…”

“Nothing’s wrong with me!” Except, everything was wrong, but he didn’t want anyone to know about what had happened, how ashamed he felt. He stood up despite the pain he felt from the bottoms of his feet. “Get out!”

“Seb…”

“I said get out Sam!” He crossed the room, shoving his best friend out of the door, closing and locking it behind Sam. Sebastian rested his forehead against the looked door, swallowing.

“Seb…”

“Go away! I want to be left alone.” He heard Sam let out a sigh, but after a few minutes, it was clear Sam had indeed left. He walked back over to his desk, his eyes looking at his medication, his thin arms wrapping around his chest, swallowing as he did so.

…

His stomach hurt. Possibly his head hurt too, although the room spun in a visual manner which made him feel dizzy.

Twisting his head slightly, he saw debris from the explosion at the Round Tablem, right before seeing Ginger nearby. Opening and closing his eyes, he thought he saw her chest move slightly despite the side of her head being bloodied. Still laying on the ground, he turned to see Arlo, who, despite bleeding from both the forehead and mouth, was pushing himself up

Sebastian’s mouth opened, wanting to scream yet nothing came out. Arlo’s hand grabbed him by the lag and began dragging him while Sebastian’s fingernails scraped at the wooden floor, panic setting in. Arlo dropped his leg and leaned in close, his hot breath a whisper in Sebastian’s ear. “Everything’s going to be okay.

Sebastian looked around and found himself in the basement, waiting for someone to rescue him once the enemy cleared out of Portia.

Sebastian closed and opened his eyes; he found himself sitting at his desk at school, his head resting against the desk while his ears picked up on the other students saying he was the enemy, because he came from Portia which was now enemy territory. Blinking again, he remembered getting punched and blood leaking out of the corner of his mouth while his body trembled right before the person dropped him onto the ground.

His nose – as he opened and closed his eyes again – dicerned the smell of vomit. He found himself on the floor of his room, unable to move even as he lay in his own sweat and vomit. He heard the sound of something breaking, his mind drifting briefly back to where he was in the hidden basement of the Round Table, the memory of the hidden door being broken open.

“Sebby?”

Hearing Arlo’s voice…

Sebastian opened and closed his eyes again, Arlo’s ghost appearing once more, his mouth opening and closing while Arlo’s clammy ghost fingers touching his shoulder as he said, “Everything’s going to be okay.”

Sebastian shut his eyes again, trying to block out the ghost, and tried to remember how he’d gotten into a situation where Arlo could actually appear in his room—s+omething to do with his medicine that he couldn’t quite remember.

…

His head pounded painfully while his stomach felt as if it had been hit by an acidic bomb. Bright light filtered through his eyelids while his entire body felt as if he were covered in cement. In truth Sebastian wasn’t even sure he was breathing, and he wondered if the ghosts were grabbing onto his limbs, pulling him down into whatever abyss of hell they wanted to drag him into.

Strangely, he heard Arlo’s voice, although thinking of Arlo going to hell didn’t sit right.

“Hey. Sebby.”

He felt his entire body stiffien even more, his fingers grippin the sheets of his bed. He wanted to throw up, his mind vaguely remembering how he’d stuffed the pills down his throat so he might escape the reality of ghosts pursuing him unrealentlessly.

“Hey. I know you’re awake,” Arlo said, “Open your eyes.”

“No.”

“Sebby?”

Sebastian curled up into a fetal position, unsure of what was or was not happening, particularly since he’d already woken up in the clinic; after all, the smells of the clinic were quite distinctive and made him want to throw up even more.

“No. You’re dead.” Sebastian covered his ears with his hands “You’re dead Arlo.”

“I…”

“Go away! Go away!” Sebatian’s breath came sharp; when someone shook his shoulder he said it again. “Go away!”

“Sebby? It’s me, mom. Please open your eyes.”

At first, he refused to open his eyes, but then his mother said, “Sebby, why didn’t you tell me or Demetrius that you were… Why didn’t you tell us about your medication? That you were struggling like you were.”

“I’m…” Sebastian’s eyes opened, his entire body stiff. His mother sat there, a definite look of worry on her face. “It’s gotten worse.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m seeing things. Dead people. I…” His eyes snapped shut.

“Sebby, Arlo’s not dead.”

“No. He is. I saw him and Ginger die that day. I saw it.”

“Sebby, Ginger, and Arlo are both alive. Ginger is living with your grandparents, but you…” She took a deep breath.

“No. I saw…” His teeth clenched shut, his hands covering his ears.

“Sweetheart, I wished you told us you were having…” Robin’s oice strained. “Harvey called it PTSD. I wished you’d told us you were having PTSD episodes from what happened in Portia.”

“Arlo…”

“He’s alive.”

“No. He…” Sebastian closed his eyes tighter.

“Why don’t I let Arlo explain that? Can you sit up for me?”

He didn’t want to, but she tugged him up. Nothing about his current situation felt real and he pulled his knees to his chest. Hisis mother called his older brother’s name and Arlo stepped from behind the divider curtain, waving weakly at Sebasitan who just said, “You’re dead.”

“I know.”

“Arlo!” Robin clicked her tongue.

“Sorry. What I mean is, I know why you’d think that, given the fact…” Arlo took a deep breath. “Where I’ve been all this time. I was stuck in a prisoner of war camp. Another person from the camp, he – well, you know Kent. He let me stay with their family, okay?”

“I don’t believe you.”

“Sebby…” Robin reached out, brushing back away a lock of Sebastian’s hair.

“You would have contacted mom,” Sebastian insisted, You didn’t.”

“That…” Arlo cut himself off. “You’re not the only one who thought someone was dead.”

“Mom’s not…”

“I’m talking about you. I couldn’t face her, knowing that… thinking that…”

“I saw you.” Sebastian also now saw Ginger standing there, her eye looking as if it might plop onto the floor, his mind spinning. “I saw you both die.”

“Yeah. And you avoided me. You freaked out.”

“This isn’t real.” Sebastian closed his eyes, sucking in a deep breath.

“I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> I really enjoyed taking part in this event along with the following authors:Alastair, ArgentNoelle, AsgardianHobbit98, Babyvfan, Bewdofchaos, Brenna76, Caldera Valhallis, Count Morningstar, CrimsonRaine87, DancesWithSeatbelts, DemonOfTheFridge, DemonShippingQueen, Desna, Drawingdownthemoon, Elleurs, Ferith12, FreyjaBee, HisagiKirigakure, HoshisamaValmor, Iceburg-sanCPX, Jadeile, Kakashi97, Kamil the Awesome, Karkatsbabe, Kittyface27, KurohimeHaruko, Max333, Nazaki-Sama, NekoPantera, Nissa Fox, PhantomGypsy13, Phoenixreal, Potashiamu, RayeMoon, Rhearenee, Sailor Silver Ladybug, SensiblyTainted, Serena.Jones.585, SereneCalamity, SesshomaruFreak, Seth’s Kiss, Shnuggletea, Sigan, Silirt, Silverstar, Spunky0ne, Starfire93, Tartarun, TheBadIdeaBears, The Token, TsukikoUchu, WhatIDesireEternally, Wrath of Vajra, Xache, and Yatsu Narurasuke. Please feel free to check out their one-shot for the Darker Oneshots, Halloween 2020 collab when they end up posting their story, or even their other stories if they interest you, but be sure to pay attention to any warnings given. They may be posted here or on ffnet. Thank you. :)


End file.
